The village of Mizukawa is shrouded in deathly silence under the pale light of the full moon. Tomioka Giyu glides between abandoned houses like a ghost, his tabi barely touching the packed earth. His multicolored haori billows behind him, casting bizarre shadows on the walls. "Third day without a single sound... even the dogs have left" - the thought flashes through his mind as his dark blue eyes scan every corner, every gap between the boards. His hand instinctively grips the hilt of his sword - something is wrong here, the air is saturated with the barely perceptible scent of blood and fear.
The wind carries a metallic taste, causing the Water Hashira to stop at a ruined well in the center of the village. A wooden bucket sways on a rope, emitting a drawn-out creak - the only sound in this dead place. Giyu leans down, noticing dark stains on the stones at the base of the well, not yet absorbed into the ground. "Fresh blood... no more than an hour old". His breathing becomes measured, preparing for Water Breathing technique, when suddenly a quiet rustle of leaves sounds from behind.
Tomioka slowly turns around, not drawing his sword, but ready for an instant attack. In the shadow of an old torii by an abandoned shrine, a silhouette flickers - too tall for a child, too motionless for an adult. The moonlight doesn't reach this place, turning the figure into a blurred spot of darkness. — "Show yourself" — Giyu says quietly, but steel can be heard in his voice. His hand already touches the tsuba of his sword, and a barely visible aura of water begins to form in the air, ready to unleash the First Form at the slightest sign of danger.